but it still looks like they're obsessed with the same Stones, Stringsteen, Dylan stuff that Rolling Stone mag still writes about (and still they don't include "Bowie" by Charles Shaar Murray *cough*). Anyway, I'll concede it looks like a well thoughtout list.

I think I might read that upcoming Broken Social Scene book by Stewart Berman when it comes out. But mostly I don't read books on music.

who knew that Jimmy Saville was one of the first ever DJ's to use two decks... Energy Flash is ace too, but I see Generation Ecstasy is on the list I wonder what thats like. Someone should do a book about garage/grime onwards, I vote for Blackdown.

who thought The Dirt was kind of wussy? Like, they actually enjoy being drugs monsters for a couple of chapters but then it all starts going wrong and blah blah blah it sort of gets all sanctimonous 'I could see in retrospect what I was doing was wrong'

Its painfully clear that they were way way beyond fun. Sixx was living alone in a huge mansion and retiring to a cupboard to shoot up every day.
If i remember correctly, he busted out of rehab one day and was picked up by a friend who agreed not to take him back if he disposed of every bit of drugs in his house. They spent hours at his mansion doing just that and the second the guy left Sixx was on the phone for heroin. He then spent the rest of the night locked in, asleep by his front door telling his friend that if he tried to come in he'd blow his brains out. 11 hours or something this went on before Sixx realised he'd imagined the whole thing.

That sort of stuff happenign every day and night for a year pretty much made them stop!

But Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks is really incredible. It's all about the specifics of how the brain interacts with music, talking about musical imagery (how we imagine a piece of music in our minds), musical hallucinations and many other astonishing topics. It's utterly fascinating throughout.

Aside from that, Chronicles by Bob Dylan and The Real Frank Zappa Book by Frank Zappa are totally crucial.